🔵 AI is reinforcing the need for artist websites

Why managing your artists' narrative is more important than ever

AI is now moving at the kind of pace that businesses are finding tough to keep up with. As we move into a new age where AI agents are controlling other AI prompts (the best example being the big step forwards in Open AI's own image generation), what is becoming clear is that the likelihood of multiple industries getting blindsided by advancements only continues to grow.

So far, so worrying, but this is a narrative I've no doubt you are all getting besieged by of late, so for now I've no desire to add to that doom spiral.

Instead, I wanted to focus on one area we've really noticed here at Motive Unknown, which is the interesting way in which AI is affecting how people learn about artists we are working with.

ChatGPT, Gemini and more are all growing in use as a knowledge-finding tool. Where once people would Google an artist, now there's an ever-increasing likelihood that they will be asking AI about them instead.

In the context of that, something became clear to us: artists who lack an official website, and particularly who lack an official biog, run a risk of the information presented by AI in its answers being either flat-out incorrect, or (more often) just wildly out of date.

In 2025 I think we see many artists and labels querying why they might need a website. There is an argument that the use of sites is evolving, rather than becoming obsolete. Perhaps one emerging use case now is ensuring that 1) the website is clearly set up and declared to be the official artist website, and that 2) it is then populated with whatever narrative that artist wishes to present.

(There's a cynical argument here that someone could use their website to push a claim that might be far-fetched in a bid to skew AI, but let's not focus on that, if only because that is not a methodology that would sit well with myself or my team.)

Interestingly, Wikimedia, the Wikipedia parent company, is now complaining that AI bots are almost amounting to a DDoS attack on its platform, because they are all scraping data, all of the time. Where humans only tend to visit one page, AI bots are hitting thousands of them at once and at some point, the Wikimedians suggest, this could wind up choking the site out completely.

If that does not happen, another scenario is that Wikimedia somehow finds a way to prevent these bots from scraping the site. In either outcome, one end result is that a lot of core knowledge about artists, labels and, well, *everything*, may no longer be fed into AI platforms, and when *that* happens, the only intel that Chat GPT et al can rely on is what's found online: rumours on Reddit, trash articles in tabloids, or just outdated interviews that potentially no longer represent that artist's viewpoint.

For us then, it is highlighting that there will be an ever-increasing need for artists to maintain their narrative online. Social media will doubtless play a part in that, but so will presenting core info on an official website.

Of course, this might continue to evolve; per my opening comment, the rate at which this is all developing is getting tough to keep up with, so in theory this might becoming an outdated viewpoint at some stage. For now though, at a time where AI's mandate (or one of them anyway) is to slurp up all knowledge online, it stands to reason that if you are an artist, or working with one in any capacity, this is something to think about.

One irony here is that PR and press has generally been viewed as something under threat, and of diminishing value to artists and labels. If we are correct in our assertions here, that might well change soon, as the need to have the artist's history, vision and more all clearly defined will only grow in value.

I should add, by the way, that here at Motive Unknown we are finding that AI is finally hitting a point where it can do meaningful things for us as a business. Until quite recently it felt like AI was by and large just a prompt that could dish out good info, but which could not integrate into our own business systems.

That is now changing, and the impact it is having on us as a business is growing. Our plans for future hires are evolving, and the places we want to invest in relative to growing the business are also shifting. However we are learning a huge amount and demonstrating very clearly how this can all help.

At some point, I suspect we’ll start to offer an advisory to labels, artists and managers, outlining how AI can further streamline processes. If that might be of interest, hit reply and let me know.

Have a great evening,

D.

🎶 Listening to Tortoise “Oganesson”. They’re back! And my word, they’re sounding better than ever on this gem of a track. Apparently there is “a larger body of work” still to come, and based on this, I cannot wait. Superb stuff.

🎶 Also listening to Photek “Breathe”. This one slipped past me as I get the sense Photek is keeping this all very low key for whatever reason, BUT, if like me you consider his works like Ni Ten Ichi Ryu to be among the greatest jungle tracks ever made (and I’ll happily die on that hill), then this return to his classic Form & Function-era sound will get you very, very hyped indeed. Update: just clocked a new track that dropped whilst writing, “The Forge”, another gem but this time sporting an AI-made video of cyborg samurai battling it out. Awesome stuff.

📺 Watching “Superman: Sneak Peek” on YouTube. I remain sceptical of what feels like the umpteenth reboot of Superman in general, but under James Gunn’s stewardship it feels like there’s a bit more levity here, which is no bad thing. It’s the first Superman film I’ve not dismissed outright in, oooh, Superman 2, heheh.

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Notes & followups in dispatches:

• We are hiring (again)! We’re on the hunt for another Junior Paid Media Executive. The ideal candidate will be keenly immersed in online culture and have experience with managing paid media bookings and best practices across key paid channels. They would have an understanding of digital media strategies and tools. Interested? Full details and application info here.

• Jungle fans take note: the BPI have teamed up with Voicebox to host “Drum & Bass: UK Made, Globally Played” event at fabric on April 16th. As well as panels and discussions, there’s then an evening of sets from the likes of Ray Keith (still sporting the greatest beard in drum & bass - fact) and Krust, among others. Full details here.

• I’m still posting over on Bluesky too, so if you want hot takes on stories as they break etc, follow me over there. 🦋

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